Editorial: Community loses David C. Brown

We were saddened to learn of the Oct. 27 death of community leader David C. Brown. The Belleville area lost a great supporter with his passing.
Although he had turned over management of his funeral home to his daughter Shelly, sold his house on the lake, moved to an out-of-town assisted care unit with his wife Martha, and recently closed the doors to his treasure shop, he still served as chairman of the Belleville Rotary Club’s Cozadd Foundation, which makes grants to worthy projects in the community.
He had served as a member of many other groups in the community and we remember covering his service on the city’s Downtown Development Authority.
When the city’s summer concerts were first planned at Victory Park, the Belleville Area Council for the Arts came to him for emergency financial support and he made it happen with a big donation. That’s been his style.
Mr. Brown was a supporter of the Independent since our newspaper started publishing more than 30 years ago and his funeral home was one of our first advertisers. David C. Brown Funeral Home hasn’t stopped advertising to this day. We appreciated his constant support and readers know they are able to see in our paper the details of arrangements at Brown’s for their friends and neighbors.
People throughout the community expressed shock last week when they heard he had died. We all expected David C. Brown to live forever. We send condolences to Martha, Amy, Shelly, and his grandchildren.